Serena’s chase goes on in Oz
And then there were two ... of the Big Three.
With Roger Federer rehabbing from double knee surger and bowing to his family’s wishes that he bypass the Australian Open this time around, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will bring the glittery vintage to Melbourne, where yet again an assortment of hankering young guns will attempt to dislodge them from the Grand Slam firmament.
The Serb is the defending and eight-time champion Down Under. The Spaniard has captured that trophy but once.
Their challengers, a studly group of 20-somethings, have been knocking on the door at majors for a considerable time but only Dominic Thiem has stepped through it, copping the U.S. Open title last summer and reaching the final in Melbourne a year ago. The World No. 3 from Austria, however, looked awful in a straight-sets loss to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini at the ATP Cup last week. So he goes back into a grab bag of top-tier aspirants that includes Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.
Canada’s Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic can’t be excluded from the bracket of contenders, albeit impatience is growing around the former, despite being of tender age. At some point the magnificently athletic 21-year-old from Richmond Hill — he now lives mostly in the Bahamas — will have to start actually closing out sets and matches instead of expending all his brilliance pushing opponents to 5-5, then sagging.
While men generally dominate attention in all sports, it’s the women of Oz who are basking in the spotlight and headlines as the tournament launches Monday (Sunday night, Toronto time). They’re the ones to watch, with the most compelling storylines, captivating personalities and stylistically diverse games.
There is Serena Williams of course. The goddess of tennis will turn 40 in September and, if ever again she raises a singles trophy, she will become the oldest grand slam victor of the open era, simultaneously equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 major triumphs — a feat Williams has been chasing since 2017, when she was pregnant with daughter Olympia.
“It’s definitely on my shoulders and on my mind, ”Williams told reporters Saturday about the pursuit. “I think it’s good to be on my mind. It’s a different burden, I should say, on my shoulders because I’m used to it now.”
Childbirth almost killed Williams, who has a history of blood clots. A significant number of hospitalized COVID-19 victims (about 20 per cent) develop life-threatening blood clots, which is why Williams scurried into isolation in March as a precaution for herself and her family.
“I actually went into quarantine really early, like the second Indian Wells was cancelled. I was already in quarantine before then. I just went home and stayed by myself.
“No one knows what happens long term. I think we’re still going to find out what happens, which is really scary. Also, I think having a sick child is one of the worst, hardest things to get through because you can’t give them medicine, you can’t really help them except (to) just hold them. It was really important for us to try to stay safe early on.”
All players spent two weeks in quarantine upon arrival in Australia, although the tournament is striving for a return to quasi-normalcy by allowing 30,000 fans into the fans daily.
After withdrawing from the Yarra Valley Classic at Melbourne Park because of a sore shoulder, Williams gave a generous shout-out to Mississauga’s Bianca Andreescu, who defeated the majestic American in the 2019 U.S. Open final.
“I think she has a bright future,” said Williams of the 20-year-old, restored to the tour after a 15-month injury hiatus. “She’s really young, rather incredibly mature. I’ve always said I think her light burns brightly.”
While Williams tries to hold back the tide of youth, it’s a sparkly bright women’s field assembled for the Australian Open.
A year ago, Sofia Kenin became the first U.S. woman other than Williams to claim Aussie laurels since Jennifer Capriati in 2002. The 22-yearold isn’t as flexible as Andreescu or as fast as Simona Halep but her timing and balance are superb. The question is how she will respond to being the hunted rather than the hunter. Defending a major is new territory.
“Mentally, I’ve got to handle my emotions and understand whoever I’m going to play, they’re obviously going to play with no pressure, which is expected,” Kenin told reporters Saturday.
Naomi Osaka, the third seed behind world No. 1 Ash Bardy and Halep, has won Slam championships in three consecutive calendar years, which puts her in rather exclusive company — only Williams, Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters have accomplished that.
“Feels a bit weird when you put it that way,” Osaka said at her media day session. “Just watching all of them growing up, wanting to play at the same tournaments as them, let alone winning the same tournaments they had, is something I always dreamed of as a kid.”
She lost her No. 1 status to Bardy in 2019 and wants it back, even if that’s not her driving force.
“I remember when I first got to No. 1. I think nobody really acknowledged me as No. 1.’’ She recalls being at Indian Wells that year and someone asked what side of the draw she was on — the top side always going to the No. 1. “It just made me think like, wow, people don’t really see me as No. 1. I kept trying to prove myself. That wasn’t really a good mindset to have.
“I feel like right now I’m at a really good place, like I just want to play every match as hard as I can. If it comes to the point where I’m able to be No. 1 again, I’ll embrace it. But I’m not really chasing it like that anymore.”
Chasing glory, though. They’re all doing that in Ozzieland.